Groundbreaking on the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C., is just weeks away, and one of the forces behind the project will be in town to talk about it.

Ty Christian, a native of Rock Hill, will be addressing participants of the 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration this Sunday, Jan. 18, in Rock Hill.

Christian has made a name for himself as an outstanding public relations professional. He is currently the chief marketing strategist for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., as well as managing partner of TRC Consulting Group out of Orlando, Fla.

Christian, who attended Steger Junior High (now Steger Sixth Grade Center) and Christian Brothers College high school, said it is very humbling to be invited back to his hometown for the annual King event.

"I'm more than excited and enthused to be a part of this great celebration and have the opportunity to come back and say a couple of words to friends, family and neighbors," he said. "It's always a great pleasure to come back home to St. Louis."

King Memorial

Plans for a Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., have been in the works for over a decade. Christian came on board about six years ago.

"We were in the quiet phase of the project then," said Christian. "The biggest donor we had at the time was General Motors."

Since then, the foundation has amassed $102 million in donations, with major contributions from Tommy Hilfiger, Disney, Coca-Cola, Ford and others.

In the course of his work, Christian has had the opportunity to shoot public service announcements with St. Louis natives Nelly and Cedric Kyles (Cedric the Entertainer), and to meet many influential people.

"Just last week, President Clinton spoke at one of our Dream Dinners in Miami," said Christian. "From civil rights pioneers to people who actually worked with Dr. King his lawyer, his personal assistant, the minister who happened to be in the same room where he was assassinated to hear their stories was unbelievable."

When he joined the foundation team, Christian was pleased to learn that a former CBC classmate, Harry E. Johnson Sr., was serving as the foundation's president and CEO.

"Dr. King said ordinary people can do extraordinary deeds," said Christian. "I never thought when I was running up and down the streets of Madison Avenue that I would be working with a former classmate in building a memorial for Dr. King.

"My best friends today, at 54, are the guys I went to CBC with," he said. "That's St. Louis the whole high school thing it's an interesting phenomenon. I always say, Steger Junior High molded me, and CBC polished me up."

The Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C., will be located on the Tidal Basin, directly across from the Jefferson Memorial and down the street from the Lincoln Memorial.

"As our president always so aptly said, 'What a great honor to place a King between two presidents,'" said Christian.

The foundation will be breaking ground for the memorial in the coming weeks.

"We have everything in place, we're just waiting on permits from the park service," said Christian.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration

The 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will be held Sunday, Jan. 18, at Steger Sixth Grade Center, 701 N. Rock Hill Road. The march begins at 4:30 p.m. on the steps of Webster Groves City Hall, 4 E. Lockwood. The march will conclude at 5 p.m. at the Steger cafeteria for a dinner reception, community celebration and worship service, where Christian will be the keynote speaker.

While in town, Christian will also be accepting donations from the Webster Groves School District on behalf of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. Schools have been selling wristbands to raise money, and district employees organized a Build the Dream dance, which attracted more than 200 people.

"I'm excited the Webster Groves School District is raising funds on our behalf," he said. "Every dollar, every penny is helpful.

"In Kirkwood and Webster Groves, we sort of got the message of Dr. King early on," he said. "When I was growing up, Webster Groves was pretty diverse, but most of all, it was pretty inclusive. I'm not going to say it was Utopia, but a lot better than most areas in race relations. I don't ever remember being put down or put aside because of the color of my skin."

Christian will make time to see family while he is in town, but will head out Monday for a special inauguration event in Washington, D.C.

"We have invited a number of our key supporters, board members and friends of the foundation to come to the Hay-Adams hotel for a brunch, where we'll show the inauguration on TV," he said.

January 31, 2026